New Zealand Flag

New Zealand

Population

5,298,214

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
126th
Share of world
0.06%
Annual change
+35,5800.69%

Population of New Zealand

2M4M6M8M10M12M14M95% prediction intervalProjected peak20265.3M2050 projection5.8M↑ 9% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

Current population estimate: 5,298,214. 2050 projection: 5,755,288.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for New Zealand. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
20265,287,4790.69%126
20255,251,8990.71%126
20205,069,8951.61%121
20194,989,4031.81%122
20184,900,8471.83%122
20174,812,7522.08%122
20154,614,0291.20%124
20104,347,7701.01%123
20054,135,0071.40%123
20003,857,5740.98%123

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Auckland is home to 1,536,416 people, 29.06% of New Zealand's population.

City population1M600K200K
Auckland 1.5MChristchurch 411.0KWellington 208.0KHamilton 194.1KTauranga 169.6KLower Hutt 112.3KDunedin 102.3KPalmerston North 81.0KHibiscus Coast 72.3KNapier 67.4K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Auckland1.5M29.06%
2Christchurch411.0K7.77%
3Wellington208.0K3.93%
4Hamilton194.1K3.67%
5Tauranga169.6K3.21%
6Lower Hutt112.3K2.12%
7Dunedin102.3K1.93%
8Palmerston North81.0K1.53%
9Hibiscus Coast72.3K1.37%
10Napier67.4K1.28%

New Zealand by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
New Zealand is home to an estimated 5,298,214 people, the 126th largest population in the world.
Daily change
New Zealand has a net population change of approximately 95 people per day, driven by 159 births, 109 deaths, and net immigration of 45 people.
Share of world
New Zealand makes up 0.06% of the world's population and 11.22% of Oceania's.
Density
20.1 people per km² of land (52.0 per mi²), ranking 201st among countries and territories.
Urban living
84% of people live in urban areas.

New Zealand Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 260100+ years, female: 63295–99 years, male: 2,60095–99 years, female: 4,95190–94 years, male: 10,84490–94 years, female: 16,90985–89 years, male: 30,29885–89 years, female: 41,05180–84 years, male: 57,34280–84 years, female: 67,82775–79 years, male: 92,80975–79 years, female: 102,53770–74 years, male: 114,25070–74 years, female: 124,32065–69 years, male: 138,07665–69 years, female: 149,20360–64 years, male: 152,81760–64 years, female: 163,39155–59 years, male: 158,62255–59 years, female: 167,31550–54 years, male: 157,24950–54 years, female: 163,48445–49 years, male: 154,37345–49 years, female: 157,44940–44 years, male: 169,19440–44 years, female: 172,26335–39 years, male: 192,22335–39 years, female: 192,46630–34 years, male: 192,80330–34 years, female: 182,98025–29 years, male: 177,58725–29 years, female: 166,31320–24 years, male: 172,59220–24 years, female: 164,61915–19 years, male: 176,41515–19 years, female: 166,86410–14 years, male: 168,15610–14 years, female: 159,1735–9 years, male: 157,6545–9 years, female: 149,5910–4 years, male: 152,9780–4 years, female: 145,005100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–450K50K100K100K150K150K

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

39 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

82.5 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

49.72%

Female

50.28%

Life expectancy 80.9Life expectancy 84.1

Ethnicity

64.1%

European

  • European64.1%
  • Maori16.5%
  • Other13.7%
  • Chinese4.9%
  • Indian4.7%
  • Samoan3.9%
  • Tongan1.8%
  • Cook Islands Maori1.7%
  • English1.5%
  • Filipino1.5%
  • New Zealander1%

Reported percentages total 115.3% and are shown individually. Source note: based on the 2018 census of the usually resident population; percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic group

Data notes

Source estimate: 2018 est.

Religion

48.6%

no religion, the largest reported group

  • no religion48.6%
  • Christian37.3%
  • objected to answering6.1%
  • Hindu2.7%
  • Other religion1.6%
  • Maori Christian1.3%
  • Islam1.3%
  • Buddhist1.1%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2018 est.

Christian: Catholic 10.2%, Anglican 6.7%, Presbyterian and Congregational 5.0%, Pentecostal 1.8%, Methodist 1.6%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.2%, Other 10.8%

Other religion: includes Judaism, Spiritualism and New Age religions, Baha'i, Asian religions Other than Buddhism

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - New Zealand United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. 2018 Census Information
  5. Statistics New Zealand
  6. Statistics New Zealand